[5] Shark Lake lies in a land system that is part of the broader Esperance sand-plain.

[5] The lake is an important drought refuge for the area's fauna, with comparatively large numbers of birds being recorded there in summer.

Species of birds found at the lake include: avocet, greenshank, hooded dotterel, black swan, reed warbler, brown bittern, hoary-headed grebe, little grassbird, Australian white ibis and buff-banded rail.

[7][1] The low-lying swamp areas around the lake are dominated by Melaleuca trees and scrub.

Fringing vegetation of mixed low heaths occur on lake edges with dense sedge beds of Baumea articulata, Isolepis nodosa, Juncus species and Schoenus brevifolius.